Apparently the American people are not quite as dumb as I thought. Granted, they did elect President Bush, but it seems that with the dawn of a new year, many Americans are finally realizing what I have been saying all along: Bush couldn’t run a faucet, let alone a country.
Yes, you heard right. Although his approval rating is still remarkably high for a president who has idly watched the economy and the environment follow each other down the toilet, it has begun to slip. In fact, recent polls have said that many Americans are very concerned with the prospect of war, but (unfortunately for Dubya) are equally as concerned with the state of the economy and the environment.
It is unspeakably refreshing to see that the American people have not been completely fooled! All the sleight-of-hand and dramatic “news” coverage, the surreptitious political switch from the Taliban to Iraq, the gut-wrenching sight of a president shamelessly begging anyone who will listen to believe that war with Iraq is necessary while more dangerous terrorists run free – all the propaganda that has been shoved down our throats has not been entirely effective! How it fills me with joy to know that Americans are smart enough to recognize the smell of bullshit before they eat it.
There is, however, one major problem. Without a doubt, George W. Bush will once again be the Republican front-runner and presidential candidate for the next election. Although he has done such a terrible job in so many vital areas, Bush has the events of September 11 under his belt, and I don’t think he has a problem with using that to manipulate voters’ emotions just a little bit. Therefore, the Democrats are going to have to put up a strong candidate in order to beat him. And if the words “strong” and “Democrat” together in the same sentence don’t make you laugh, well, nothing will.
Travis Atria is a junior majoring in English literature.